The Palm Event Center is a Vineyard located on the outskirts of Pleasanton, Ca. It is some what secluded but provides a nice getaway from the city and suburbs surrounding it. Its not Napa or Sonoma, but you definitely still get a Winery/Vineyard feel here even though its only several miles away from the suburbs.

We were able to do wedding photography and videography here at the Palm Event Center, so feel free to contact us regarding both.  Venues like this are rare in the San Francisco Bay Area, but its a great change of pace from your typical hotel or what not.

It is relatively secluded and while driving there you’re not quite sure if you made the right turn or not, so guests coming to your wedding without GPS will need very clear directions. It is relatively straightforward once you get on the right road.

The Palm Event Center itself is a very nicely decorated exterior and interior, from the vintage winery looking doors to wine barrels in the interior give it a very nice feel.  Theres also a wine room where the wedding party can use for a variety of different things including the wedding photography!

Outside, you have the palm trees in the entrance path, and the Michael Katz Winery which is next door which makes for some nice wedding photos.  There is also the vineyard you can use for some nice pictures, but keep in mind the paths are very tight and if your wedding dress is long you will end up snagging leaves and such on your train which might get a bit messy.

If you are having an outdoor ceremony, there isnt alot of shade so guests might bake a bit in the hot east bay sun depending on your time of day.  Careful on where you select your spot for the wedding ceremony (usually on the patio in the back), the shade of the building mixed with bridge daylight can have an impact on your ceremony pictures (bright and dark exposures can look pretty bad).  People have also opted for indoor ceremony and while they convert it for dinner, there is a nice patio outside for a cocktail reception.

Interior wise it is relatively dark which is great for the mood but sometimes a pain for some wedding photographers.  It has a very high black ceiling, which means you’re going to have to use flash.  We setup our own special lighting to simulate soft light coming from the windows. They also have spot lights and tracking lighting above but to our knowledge when we asked to increase light levels, the service manager told us it only had 1 setting, on or off.  This was sort of a problem for video because the head table was positioned at the darkest spot in the rear of the room furthest from lighting.  We had to setup lighting ourselves so when they gave speeches we were able to properly light our couple.

Lastly the service and food there was great.  Our staff was served with beef and chicken dishes, very typical of wedding food but they were nicely done and presented.  They were on schedule with all events, the coordinator Clay was very professional to work with.  They even attended to our needs which sometimes isnt always apparent.

Their website can be reached at

http://www.palmeventcenter.com/

Phone: 925.426.8666

I’ve talked to Monique the Director of Events there and she was a pleasure to speak to and can answer any direct questions regarding the Palm Event Center.

Feel free to email us questions regarding wedding photography at the Palm Event Center